BP’s annual profits soar to $6.2bn

Energy giant BP has seen its annual profits soar to $6.2 billion (£4.4bn), largely due to the rise in global oil prices.

Profits more than doubled last year – up from $2.6 billion (£1.86bn) the year before.

The company said oil and gas exploration delivered the most successful year since 2004, with around one billion barrels of oil equivalent of resources discovered.

Seven new projects came online last year and production in the fourth quarter rose by 18% – equivalent to 2.58 million barrels of oil a day.

Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley said: “2017 was one of the strongest years in BP’s recent history.

“We enter the second year of our five-year plan with real momentum, increasingly confident that we can continue to deliver growth across our business, improving cash flows and returns for shareholders out to 2021 and beyond. At the same time, we are embracing the energy transition, seeking new opportunities in a changing, lower carbon world.”